Hélène Grimaud

MOZART Piano Concertos 19 + 23 / Grimaud 4779455

She's spontaneous, but she's not extreme and never nuts . . . the strongest interpretive statement is . . . Grimaud's quite slow tempo of the middle movement of the A-Major concerto. She makes it glow. The orchestra and she move as one.

Record Review /
Mark Swed,
Los Angeles Times / 10. November 2011

. . . [Hélène Grimaud] finds a just balance between respect for the score and probing beneath the notes. There is animated interaction between this French pianist and the without-conductor orchestra. Of the concertos, the A major (K488) is one of his most popular, serene and vivacious, qualities that Grimaud and her confrères capture with taste and personality . . . "Ch'io mi scordi di te?" benefits from Mojca Erdmann's radiant soprano and her sense of theatre. Grimaud is present, too, complementing the singer in style.

Record Review /
Colin Anderson,
Time Out (London) / 06. February 2012

Grimaud's playing is full of carefully graded subtleties. It's evident she has thought deeply about each gesture, yet the resulting performance sounds fresh and spontaneous. This is particularly evident in the last movement of no. 19 . . . There are heart-stopping moments where time seems suspended in the Adagio of no. 23 . . . Erdmann has a lovely, supple, warm soprano . . . The conductorless chamber orchestra is impressive. Grimaud takes great care to de-sentimentalise the music and make it, in her own words, "weightless"; she succeeds admirably . . .

Record Review /
Emma Baker,
Classic FM (London) / 01. March 2012

This disc suggests she belongs in the great line of Mozart players . . . This is to say that she plays Mozart in a way that reveals the human flesh and bone beneath the composer's angelic surfaces, and that her balance of strength and charm, drama and tenderness is combined with fearlessness and imaginative use of colour. With the orchestra providing strong support, the pianist gives a tremendous performance of the F major Concerto . . . The A major Concerto is no less distinguished. The pianist plays with characteristic finesse and beauty of phrasing, making the slow movement particularly memorable for its poise and its extraordinary depth of feeling . . . ["Ch'io mi scordi di te" is] sung sensitively by Mojca Erdmann.